Students and faculty in the University of Kentucky’s Division of Instructional Communication and Research (ICR), housed in the School of Information Science, have been very productive in preparation for the National Communication Association’s 104th Annual Convention. The conference titled “Communication at Play” was held in Salt Lake City, Utah from November 8-11, 2018 and is the premiere outlet for work in instructional communication and research.

The School of Information Science, a part of the College of Communication and Information, offers a graduate certificate in instructional communication to students within the college, students in other PhD programs across the university, and professionals working in educational, organizational, or healthcare settings.

This year, UK’s instructional research group had 16 papers or panels accepted to the conference.

Hadden and Frey present at the instructional top paper panel

Three of which were top papers at in the Instructional Development and Applied Communication divisions, including “Syllabus Sanctions: Controlling Language and Perceived Fairness as Antecedents to Students’ Psychological Reactance and Intent to Comply” by Kody Frey and Kelsey Moore and “Balancing Feedback and Relationships: A Longitudinal Examination of Feedback Provision and Assessment” by Dr. Brandi Frisby, Alexis Hadden, and Kelsey Moore and "They Seem to Really Want to Help Even Though I Don't Know Who They Are: Exploring the Relationship of Anonymity and Frequency of helpful Remarks in Newspaper Comment Sections" by Dr. Renee Kaufmann. 

To add, eight were solo or first authored by graduate students. Here is a list of graduate students and ICR faculty who shared their research and expertise at NCA this semester:

Dr. Troy Cooper: “Leveling the Playing Field: Cross-Collaboration between the Basic Course and STEM Courses”

Kody Frey and Nick Tatum: “Measurement in Instructional Communication: Review, Analysis, and Recommendations”

Tatum and Frey discuss a new communication measures book they are working on with other scholars

Kody Frey, Alexis Hadden, Dr. Renee Kaufmann, and Annie Beck: “Classroom Bae-haviors: An Examination of Couples’ Management of Relational Privacy in the Classroom”

Dr. Brandi Frisby: “Social Integration and Student Proactivity: Precursors to Increased Academic Integration and Persistence in a First-Year Experience Basic Communication Course”

Dr. Brandi Frisby and Dr. Jessalyn Vallade: “Academic Resilience: A Turning Point Approach to Understanding Resilience Challenges, Development, and Trajectories”

Aexis Hadden and Dr. Brandi Frisby: “College Instructors and the Digital Red Pen: An Exploration of the Adoption of Digital Written Feedback Technologies”

Hayley Hoffman: “We’re in Uncharted Territory: Understanding Educators’ Responses to Donald Trump’s Presidency”

Hoffman presents her poster on teacher confirmation and emotional interventions following Trump's election

Dr. Renee Kaufmann: “Don’t Stop the Music: Developing Creative and Critical Thinking Skills”

Kelsey Moore: “Finding Fallacious Friends on Facebook: Teaching Fallacies through Facebook Comments”

Nora Radway: “Shyness in the Classroom: A Study in Nonverbal Communication Codes”

Dr. Amanda Slone: “Developing Digitally Mediated Training: Applications for Practitioners and Educators”

Nick Tatum: “Instructional Communication and Instructor-Student Rapport: History, Critiques, and Future Directions”

Dr. Jessalyn Vallade and Dr. Renee Kaufmann: “The Instructor Failed to Open Up in Class: A Replication and Extension Investigating Instructor Misbehavior in the Online Classroom”

Dr. Jessalyn Vallade and Dr. Renee Kaufmann: “Comparing Traditional and Nontraditional Student Perceptions of Instructor Communication: An Expectancy Violation Perspective”

The graduate certificate in instructional communication examines the design of messages used in any instructional context, whether it is providing information to employees in an organization, communicating to the public during a crisis, instructing patients on proper healthcare procedures, or teaching students in a traditional classroom environment. Additional information about instructional communication and research is available here: http://ci.uky.edu/sis/icr.